The continent with the richest freshwater resources in the world is Antarctica.

Despite its icy desert appearance, Antarctica’s ice sheets hold ~70% of Earth’s freshwater. The ice averages over 2 km thick, with a total volume of 26 million km³. If melted, global sea levels would rise by 60 meters. Additionally, Antarctica has hundreds of subglacial lakes, including Lake Vostok, preserving ancient liquid freshwater.

Though currently¹ inaccessible², Antarctica surpasses³ other continents (e.g., South America’s Amazon or North America’s Great Lakes) in freshwater reserves.

世界上淡水最丰富的洲是 南极洲 (Antarctica)。

尽管南极洲被冰雪覆盖，看似荒凉，但其冰盖储存了全球约 70% 的淡水资源。南极冰盖的平均厚度超过 2千米，总体积约 2600万立方千米。如果全部融化，全球海平面将上升约 60米。此外，南极洲还拥有数百个冰川下湖，其中最大的是 沃斯托克湖 (Lake Vostok)，蕴藏着古老的液态淡水。

虽然这些淡水目前难以直接利用，但南极洲无疑是地球上淡水储量最大的洲，远超南美洲（如亚马逊河）或北美洲（如五大湖）。